12 oz. bottle, vintage 2012, bottled on 02/21/2012. Acquired a single bottle of this stuff recently from the local beer store. "Develops in the bottle for up to 5 years". "Contains live yeast. A sediment may form", and indeed one did. Identified on the bottle merely as a Belgian Style Ale. First time trying this one in years.

Poured into a clear balloon snifter.

A - It pours a rich murky caramel brown body with one finger of light tan brown head that fades to a ring quickly. Leaves behind nice moderate strands of sticky lacing. Looks very nice.

S - A warm, pleasant, and inviting aroma that I wasn't expecting from a Goose Island dubbel style. Tons of smooth caramel, brown sugar, and notes of vanilla, oak wood, and cream. Just a touch of alcohol fumes pervade.

A: It pours a brilliant ruby tinted amber with a 1” cream coloree foam solar that head that dissipates fairly quickly but clings to the side of the glass. S: spicy, estery aromas with traces of caramel and alcohol. T: Yeast driven palate with fruit, rich malt, alcohol, and a moderate hop accent on the finish. F: Creamy full body with moderately low carbonation and slight alcohol warming. O: An easy to drink beer that captures the Belgian dubbel style. (461 characters)

Vintage bottle dated 3/22/2012. I'm getting to this bottle a little over 3 years after bottling.

Appearance: very dark brown with some hints of burnt orange, poured fairly thick with really no head to speak of. There is a very thin ring of creamy white bubbles around the rim of the glass. There is still some carbonation after three years because the bottle hissed a bit when opened and the laser etching in my glass created some carbonation. The bottle had a significant amount of protein coagulation/sediment at the bottom. This is to be expected with a beer of this age. When I swirl the beer in the glass or take a drink, there are some alcohol legs that form but not like a beer that started out much stronger like a quad or BSDA.

Nose: caramel, toffee, dried figs, raisins, complex dark red fruit esters, some spicy character from the yeast. No off smells at all.

Taste and Mouthfeel: Fairly thin mouthfeel, not unusual in a cellared beer. Nice light carbonation, a bit of warming alcohol but nothing hot or solvent like, dried cherries and dark fruits, beautiful spice from the Saaz hops. Saaz hops have a 1-1 alpha to beta acid percentage so the hop character really stays in the beer over time. The beer still retains some sweetness and I do believe it will have the legs to make it to 5 years (or more) like Goose Island says, under cellar conditions. Slight lactic mouthfeel from the barrel aging and bugs therein. Not a bad thing at all and I was expecting some more Brett character. This beer can really stand up over time.

Overall: Since this beer is now retired it can be hard to find. I'm going to source another 2-3 4-packs and enjoy this one for years to come. I love the Dubbel style and this is a fantastic example from a world class brewery. This beer screams "Cellar me!!" I have not tried a fresh example but the cellared ones are worth every penny. (1,877 characters)

2007 Pere Jacques I forgot about and found in the back of a root cellar. I was expecting the flavor to have completely fallen apart. I was pleasantly surprised, and glad I was sharing it with a friend.

Look: Exactly as it should for a dubbelSmell: Dried fruit compote with some allspice. Maybe a tad nutty, definitely like caramel.Taste: Caramelized dried fruit. Dried dark fruit. Not tart. For it's age (bottled 8/07, drank 3/15) it didn't fall apart. As we swirled it and it warmed a bit, the flavor got bigger and bigger. This was a terrific representation of the style.Feel: thick but not too thick. It coated the mouth and the flavor lingered and changed over time before the next sip. This is exactly what this beer should taste like.Overall: I liked this beer a lot. I have a hard time giving perfect scores so I toned the scored back a lot, but I'm going to see if I can track down another one of these. I doubt there are too many around, which is a shame. (969 characters)

Cloudy caramel pour with a light, creamy head that lingers as a khaki ring around the glass. The nose really sings of yeast, malt, and Sour Punch Straws. Sorry, I couldn't resist, but it is true! Loved those things. Candied fruit is at the front of the flavor profile as well with a warm, smooth, boozy finish. Goose Island brings it again for me. Strong and interesting brew. (382 characters)

Bottle from July 2012 poured into tulip glasses and shared. Beautiful clear chestnut brown color with half finger of slightly off-white head that dissipates and leaves minimal lacing. Nice dried fruit and Belgian candy aroma. Taste is delicious and perfect to the style - raisins, currants, dried apricot, candy, and a slight sharp bitterness to offset the sweet. Mouth feel was dryer than I expected, making the beer seem thin for style, but actually probably makes it more drinkable. Overall, a pretty solid take on the Belgian Dubbel, albeit a bit pricey in this case ($9.50 for 22 oz). (594 characters)

I am not a huge fans of Belgians so I had been sitting on this bottle for awhile. I cracked it open when my brother in laws came over. I was pleasantly surprised. It was sweet, smooth beer that I can only imagine aging helped make more subtle. The yeasty flavor was there but it was in the background and also subtle. Overall, a nice beer. (370 characters)

Appearance: Pours a dark rusty dark orange color with less than a finger of an off white head that dissipates almost instantly to nothing. No retention or lacing of any kind. Body is murky and just barely translucent.

Poured from 76mL bottle into a snifter, pours a beautiful mahogany color, like nothing I've seen before with a tan 2 finger head and modest lacing. (One of the best pours I've had yet). Aroma is exceptional as well, at first you can smell the 8% alcohol, but then it opens up to some fruitiness (notably raisins or bubble gum), and then a slight matly smell to finish. Taste is not as great as the aroma, still pleasant though. First upon entering my mouth, like the aroma, first taste was the alcohol content, but as it sits in your mouth the fruitiness comes to life and the after taste is that of smoky maltiness. The mouthfeel is very creamy, which is deceptive, as it looks like a very thin bodied beer. Overall a good beer, could be one of the best I've had if the flavor was a bit better. I'd have it time and time again though, for sure! (845 characters)

2012 bottle poured into a tulip. Poured a deep amber touching on brown. One finger white head with good lacing. Oak, banana, and a touch of spice in the aroma. Yeast presence is strong with a fair amount of sweetness akin to mellon going on. Fairly viscous with a nice bitter after bite. (288 characters)

A: An amber copper color with some sediment suspended in the glass despite a careful pour. Otherwise it is pretty clear. Little to no foam.

S: Very sweet, like maple syrup or honey. Some notes of cloves perhaps?

T: Sweet and belgian malts. Raisin and buttery notes persist.

M: Relatively thin but good for the style.

O: A well-crafted beer. Full of sweet flavors, but I had hoped for something a bit more, I guess. I was just left wanting more. I'd drink it again, but I wouldn't pay as much as I did for it. (559 characters)

Not the best but definitely not the worst! Quite strong and slightly sweet with solid mouth feel. I would purchase again despite the fact that Goose Island is now owned by a INTERNATIONAL BIG BROTHER BEER CONGLOMERATE! ;>} (227 characters)

Picked up a 12 ounce bottle from the local bottle shop (took a try on a 2013... thought it could handle the age well)... not expecting be knocked out but wanting to give another Goose Island a try. Poured into my tulip glass. Nothing tremendous on appearance... unfiltered (that's ok), 1/2 finger of head was gone quickly, interesting mahogany hue. The aroma was awesome... raisins and dark fruit, apples or pears, molasses, and of course, Belgium. Aside from the presence of alcohol in the taste, all of the aromas were strong in the flavor profile. Not a ton of the 'funk', and overall a great flavor balance. Velvety mouthfeel... one of the most enjoyable I have tried for mouthfeel. Overall, this was excellent... great balance to this beer, and a pleasant surprise. As a big IPA and stout guy, before long I might be drawn to more of the Belgian styles... pick one up. (873 characters)